Mounts for stuffed toy animal eyes



Feb. 15, 1966 H. BRUDNEY 3,

MOUNTS FOR STUFFED TOY ANIMAL EYES Filed Aug. 2, 1963 INVENTOR. HARRY BAUD/V) United States Patent 3,234,690 MGUNTS FOR STUFFED TOY ANIMAL EYES Harry Brudney, New York, N.Y., assignor t0 Dollac Div., Jacoby-Bender, Inc., Woodside, N.Y. Filed Aug. 2, 1963, Ser. No. 299,574 6 Claims. (Cl. 46169) This invention relates to eye mounts for stuffed toy animals having a fabric skin of soft texture with simulated fur and constitutes an improvement over the disclosures shown in my previously filed patent applications, S.N. 176,238 dated February 28, 1962, and S.N. 208,295, dated July 9, 1962.

In the previously filed applications there are shown novel methods for securely holding a sleeping doll eye in place within an aperture of the skin of a stuffed toy animal. The particular feature of novelty in the earlier applications resides in the coaction of the eye casing with a frictional gripping ring which secures the marginal area of the aperture to the eye casing to form a mechanical bond. However, in the construction shown, the particular component, namely a flange, part of the eye casing which reacted with the gripping ring was too visible at the front of the toy animal and did not present a natural appearance of a toy animal having fur completely surrounding the eye opening. Accordingly, it was a primary object of the latter invention to provide an eye casing in coaction with a gripping ring such that the simulated fur of the animal skin fully surrounds the eye opening and no mechanical gripping component is visible. This produced a very realistic effect.

However, a problem has been discovered to exist in the assembly of the various components of the doll eye in that at the inner periphery of the aperture in the simulated animal skin, stray fibers project into the aperture. This poses some difficulty due to the bunching of the fibers which prevent proper seating of the edge of the rear casing and also such fibers tend to jam the locking ring, which makes applying of the locking ring difficult. The bunching and raveling which occurs due to these conditions prevent a smooth gripping of the margin of the aperture by the locking ring. In order to overcome this problem, the present invention provides recesses in which the surplus plush at the aperture periphery and stray fibers may be accommodated, thus reducing the tendency of the plush around the aperture to fold or wrinkle, whereby a maximum amount of material is gripped between the flange on the front shell and the locking ring. The recesses are formed in a relatively simple manner by providing abutments moulded integrally with the front shell and extending on the outer cylindrical surface thereof, a short distance rearwardly from the flange. The abutments are angularly spaced and when the forward edge of the rear case is pushed on to the shell, it engages the radial surfaces of the abutments to limit the telescoping of the casing on the shell. Accordingly, recesses or pockets are formed by means of the radial flanks of the abutments, the edge of the rear casing, and the flange into which the abutments merge. Also, there is an undulating effect of the aperture edge as it encompasses the abutments and is pressed thereagainst by the locking ring, with alternate edge portions going into the recesses. This effect takes up surplus material in the transition from cylindrical to conical shape which the skin must take. Although the length of cylindrical portion is, of course, very short, nevertheless the bunching at the aperture edge is thought due to this cylindricity.

Therefore, the objects of the invention are to provide means for keeping the aperture margin unwrinkled between the front shell flange and the locking ring; to

provide means for accommodating stray fibers of the aperture edge; to effect an improved grip between the front shell and the aperture margin; and other features as will appear from the description to follow.

A detailed description of the invention now follows in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view in elevation of the essential elements of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the gripping ring used in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the gripping ring used in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an assembly view, in elevation, and partially in section, of an eye mounted in the aperture of a fabric simulated fur toy animal skin;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the eye of FIG. 4 as it appears mounted in a plush skin;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view in elevation of. a plastic moulded front eye shell for a sleeping doll type of eye as used in this invention, for example, the eye shell shown in FIGURES 1, 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 is a rear view to a magnified scale of the eye shell of FIG. 6; and,

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevation partially in section showing an assembly of the front shell, the rear casing, the locking ring and the skin; the view is a magnification of the portion shown in the dotted circle of FIG. 4, as indicated by the arrow 8.

Referring now to the drawing, the invention comprises a plastic front eye shell 10 of the general type commercially used in the trade having the body portion 13, which shell will be understood to house a movable weighted sleeping doll eye, pivotally carried on trun nions in an entirely conventional manner, the details of which do not form any part of the present invention, and accordingly are not shown. The shell 10 is provided with a forwardly disposed peripheral flange 14 comprising a rear bevel 16, abutments 18 which form recesses 19, and a rounded front bevel 20. The radial area 23 extending inwardly from the front bevel 20 is generally flat and has extending therefrom eye socket formations 26 and 30 around an aperture 31 which are spherically shaped to house a portion of the eyeball 33 and which merge into recesses 34 at the aperture corners. Thus, the molded portions 26 and 30 form simulated upper and lower lids, respectively, although a lash 40, preferably a so-called soft lash is secured to the eyeball and moves therewith in a well known manner. A metallic rear casing 44 is provided, having a front edge 45, which telescopes with frictional grip on the front shell casing portion 13 up to engagement with abutments 18 and has the usual diametrically opposed bulges, such as 47, which fit other corresponding bulges, such as 50, of the front shell, such bulges 50 being understood to effect guide ways within portion 13 so that the eyeball, with integral trunnions, can be slid into position, all in a heretofore familiar manner. A locking ring 54 is provided having a radial flange 57, a recess 60 and a longitudinal skirt 63 terminating in radially disposed gripping lips 66. The skirt 63 is provided with arcuate bulges 70 to conform to the bulges 47. As shown in FIG. 5, the eye is assembled on simulated animal fur or plush, hairy, material 74. Such material has a fabric back 77 and a furry mass of fibrous hair-like material extending generally outwardly from the backing 77. Such material is well known and conventional. It will be noted from FIG. 8 that the lips 66 are engaged against the casing portion 13 and it will be further understood that such lips strongly grip the casing portion to hold the locking ring in place thereon. Also, as seen on FIG. 8, the forward portion of the ring goes partially over abutments 18 to frictionally grip them. vThe eye fits through an aperture in the material 74 and the marginal area of the aperture is securely pinched and gripped between the bevel 16 and the longitudinal and radial walls of the recess 60. The material is thus compressed and mechanically secured. However, due to the fluffiness of the material and the bevel provided at 16, the simulated fur 74 which is, comprised of closely spaced soft fibers or hairs expand to encompass the bevel portions 16 and 20, and bends therearound to substantially hide the bevel front of the shell around the eye, bevel 16 forming a relief funnel-like region into which the fibers can expand or spread. The frontal view gives an effect of an animal .eye deeply recessed within the face skin, as shown in FIG. 5.

v Referring now to FIGURES 7 and 8, skin 74 will be noted as being gripped between the locking ring 57 and the conical rear surface of the front flange of the plastic eye shell 16. It will be noted .that the front edge 45 of the rear metallic shell engaged against the radial faces of the longitudinal abutments 18 to thus limit the telescoping of the casing with respect to the shell. Accordingly, recesses or pockets 19 are bounded by adjacent abutments 18, the flange 16, and edge 45, and it will be noted that. the edge aperture fibers of the skin are accommodated in such recesses. Also, as seen in FIG. 7, there is a uniform undulating effect produced at the edge of the skin 74 (phantom line) aperture wherein the material at the edge goes over the abutments and then down into the recesses. Accordingly, slack material is not permitted to bunch up under the locking ring and the cylindricity at the aperture edge may then have a smooth transition to conicity in laying against the conical rear face of flange 16.

Accordingly, by the construction described above a neat,,compact, securely gripping assembly of the eye to the skin is effected.

Having thus described the invention, it is realized that changes may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and therefore it is not desired that the invention be limited to the precise illustration herein given except as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is: v I 1. In a device of thekind described, an eye assembly comprising a front shell having a cylindrical body with an integrally molded forward flange, and angularly spaced abutment elements integrally molded on said body and merging into said flange and extending longitudinally of said body for a predetermined extent and a rear casing secured to said body and having a front edge adjacent said abutment elements to effect recesses therewith and a ring encompassing said recesses and disposed to clampa skin member against such flange.

, 2. In a device of the kind described, an eye assembly comprising a front shell having a radially outwardly projecting forward flange, such flange being formed with a rear bevel; a locking ring secured to said assembly and having a flange spaced from said bevel and forming a recess therewith, said front shell having radial, spaced external abutment elements extending thereover adjacent said forward flange and encompassed by said locking ring, and a rear casing telescoped on said shell and having a forward edge engaging said abutment elements.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of an eye and a simulated fur toy animal skin, said skin having an aperture for accommodating said eye, said eye having a body portion extending through said aperture, a gripping ring carried by said body portion, the forward portion of said body portion having a flange, said gripping ring forming a recess in coaction with said flange, said body portion having radial abutments, marginal material of said skin surrounding said aperture being gripped between said flange and said gripping ring, a rear casing on said body portion having an edge engaging said abutments and forming recesses therewith for accommodating fibres of said skin at said aperture, said locking ring encompassing said latter recesses.

4. A doll eye for a stuffed toy animal of the type having a fur-like skin comprised of a backing material from which fibers extend, said doll eye comprising a plastic molded shell to receive an'eyeball and having an aperture for exposure of said eyeball and having a front flange surrounding said aperture and terminating peripherally in a rearwardly sloped bevel, a plurality of angularly spaced abutments integrally molded to said bevel and to said shell and extending longitudinally thereon, a rear casing member frictionally secured on said shell and having a forward edge engaging said abutments, a locking ring fricti-o'nally secured on said shell over said abutments, whereby the spacing between said abutments forms recesses closed by said edge of said rear casingand said locking ring to accommodate stray fibers at the edge of an aperture in a skin clamped between said bevel and locking ring.

5. The combination of a doll eye and a fibrous hairy skin for a toy animal, said doll eye having a front shell, said skin having an aperture, said front shell being disposed in said aperture and having an enlarged portion on the face side of said skin, a locking ring on the other side of said skin and means for effecting a grip of said ring on said skin to secure said front shell thereto, said ring having a flange forming a recess with said enlarged portion, the marginal portion of said aperture being compressed in said recess by said ring, the hairs of said skin extending from said recess to effect substantial concealment of said enlarged portion and being permitted to expand in said recess in extending generally forwardly thereout, and said front shell having recess means to accommodate stray radial fibers adjacent said aperture.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of an eye and a simulated fur toy animal skin, said skin having an aperture for accommodating said eye, said eye having a body portion extending through said aperture, a gripping ring carried by said body portion, the forward portion of said body portion having a flange, said gripping ring forming a recess in coaction with said flange, said body portion having radial abutments, marginal material of said skin surrounding said aperture being gripped between said flange and said gripping ring, a rear casing on said body portion having an edge engaging said abutments and forming recesses therewith, the material of the edge of the aperture of said skin being undulated around said abutments to take up slack.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,677,628 7/1928 Gould 285-161 RICHARD c. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. 

4. A DOLL EYE FOR A STUFFED TOY ANIMAL OF THE TYPE HAVING A FUR-LIKE SKIN COMPRISED OF A BACKING MATERIAL FROM WHICH FIBERS EXTEND, SAID DOLL EYE COMPRISING A PLASTIC MOLDED SHELL TO RECEIVE AN EYEBALL AND HAVING AN APERTURE FOR EXPOSURE OF SAID EYEBALL AND HAVING A FRONT FLANGE SURROUNDING SAID APERTURE AND TERMINATING PERIPHERALLY IN A REARWARDLY SLOPED BEVEL, A PLURALITY OF ANGULARLY SPACED ABUTMENTS INTEGRALLY MOLDED TO SAID BEVEL AND TO SAID SHELL AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THEREON, A REAR CASING MEMBER FRICTIONALLY SECURED ON SAID SHELL AND HAVING A FORWARD EDGE ENGAGING SAID ABUTMENTS, A LOCKING RING FRICTIONALLY SECURED ON SAID SHELL OVER SAID ABUTMENTS, WHEREBY THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID ABUTMENTS FORMS RECESSES CLOSED BY SAID EDGE OF SAID REAR CASING AND SAID LOCKING RING TO ACCOMMODATE STRAY FIBERS AT THE EDGE OF AN APERTURE IN A SKIN CLAMPED BETWEEN SAID BEVEL AND LOCKING RING. 